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We all know where the missing sock goes. The dryer eats
it. I think this has been proven time and time again. But what about the lost
mittens?

As some of you may know, here in Alberta, we had a first
major snowfall of the year. It was doozy. It snowed for two days straight and
we ended up with a ton. We have been lucky, though. If I'm being honest, one
shouldn't complain that our first big snowfall happened in November. It sounds
crazy, but we usually get snow in September, or October--trust me, there has
been tons of years where the Halloween costume has to be put over a snowsuit,
or under, where you're traipsing around -20C weather just to get some Candy.

The point is, November isn't that bad. We've had snow in
every month of the year. Seriously.

What I do find an issue, is that after the big snowfall,
when I got out the Rubbermaid bin that holds all the winter gear like mitts,
gloves, toques (for non-Canadians that's a winter hat) scarves and everything
in between... I noticed a trend. After all the mitts and gloves were pulled
out, only one complete pair was found. One.

Where do the mittens and gloves go? They're not eaten by the
dryer. I don't think.

Their lost because my son leaves them places. He takes them
off, he plays, he forgets them. Then again, I wonder how he bothered to come
home last year with only one glove and not two.

It's carelessness. It happens. He is a kid after all. So, I
discarded all the lonely single mitts and gloves and went in search of new
ones.

Believe it or not, but this was not an easy feat. I shake my
head when I go out in November, the beginning of our Canadian winters (which
stretch on to April sometimes) to find that most stores are SOLD OUT of winter
wear and "are probably not getting any more in."

My mouth fell open. Seriously. In November, if I haven't
already purchased copious amounts of mitts and gloves, I'm not likely to get
anymore??? And what if I do buy three or four pairs but by mid-January those
pairs have turned into singles... My son is just out of luck?

I understand that stores are always one step ahead. You can
buy Back to School Supplies in June, Halloween Candy in August, Christmas
decorations the day after Halloween and so forth but what is the logic of
allowing stores to sell out of winter items well before winter is over. I
honestly don't want to be shopping for bikini's in December, when in Canada, in
"The Great White North" I won't be needing it until May, at the
earliest.

I had to drive to five different stores, pay a hefty price
for new gloves for my little man, only to have the sickening feeling that if he
loses these new ones, he's going to be in big trouble. He needs to treat them
like gold. More than gold if he plans on having warm fingers all season.

I almost thought that perhaps I should buy the lot, clean
the store out and then, later, I should be turning a profit and selling them to
the highest bidder when other moms are out shopping, in January, for gloves and
mitts because, like me, I'm sure they didn't honestly believe they'd become
nonexistence.

I'm tempted to sew a strew onto both mitts in hopes of my
son not losing them. Or wait. Perhaps I should be digging out the singles I
threw away, and simply make him, in the event of desperate times, wear mismatched
gloves and mittens. Now there's an idea!